GAUHATI

Gauhati, the biggest city in Assam, is built on the ruins of the ancient town of Pragjyotishpur, capital of many kings. On the banks of the Brahmaputra, Gauhati is also a centre of pilgrimage for Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists alike Sage Vasishta is believed to have lived in a place near Gauhati. In the ebeart of the city, on a hillock, stands the Janardhan temple which also contains an image of the Buddha, representing the assimilation of Hindu and Buddhist cultures. A centre of the Tantric form of Saktism is the Kamakya temple on Nilachal hill. The Navagrah temple is unusual in that it is a relic reminding one that the area was known as an ancient centre of astronomy and astrology. At Hajo about 25 kms from Gauhati, across the Brahmaputra, is the temple of Hayagriba Madhab. Some Buddhists believe that Gautama attained Nirvana her. Hajo is also a place of pilgrimage for Muslims who belive that a pilgrimage for muslims who believed that a mosque here has one-fourth the sanctity of Mecca (Pao-Mecca).